


Twilight's End

by AshaCrone



Series: Fathers and cubs [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Implied Reincarnation, M/M, Not Season/Series 02 Compliant, Post Mpreg, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 21:59:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11587026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshaCrone/pseuds/AshaCrone
Summary: Post series, distant finale to Fathers and CubsHappy endings are not endings. Life continues on. Children come of age, and we have to deal with the infirmities of old age and the tragedies of time.Thace decides to throw a party. He wants it to be a happy one.





	Twilight's End

**Author's Note:**

> This stories has dubious canonicity to the rest of the series, though it has a lot of implied spoilers for where I plan to take it. This is also me dealing with a lot of grief and frustration that I just don't process well. So please go into this story aware that it is sad. Please feel free to ignore it if you don't like that kind of thing. The rest of the series will continue and this is just a very distant, _possible_ endpoint. Heavily influenced by the Babylon 5 episode, Sleeping in Light. 
> 
> Trigger warning for character death and grieving. Don't read if these things trigger or squick you.

Twilight’s End

“Madam President?” a voice called, and Allura looked up from the display of reports scrolling in front of her. The young Galra-Human half-breed was standing in the doorway, absently twisting her long lavender hair. 

“Yes, Nyanko?” she snapped, glancing back at the endless activity that came to her, even after her staff filtered it. “I’m rather busy at the moment, and I do not wish to be disturbed. If you can take a message-“ Nyanko , also known as Shirogane Theri, walked inside a put a cup of coffee on Allura’s desk.

Allura snorted at the peace offering, but picked up the ‘World’s Best Boss’ cup and took a sip anyways. In the past few years, Allura had found herself shamelessly addicted to the stuff. Relaxed her almost like nothing else.

“Kolivan is here to see you. He says the matter is… personal,” Nyanko said quietly, glancing at Allura’s reports. “If you like, I can hold your calls and shift your meetings around.”

Allura sighed. “Did he say how personal?”

“Very,” Kolivan said, appearing behind her. His face, usually grim, was downright apocalyptic. Allura felt her eyebrow lift; the Kolivan she had come to know over the years was dour but this was… unnerving.

“All right, have a seat,” Allura answered, gesturing towards one of the ergonomic, if incredibly plain, chairs in front of her desk. The entire office was meant to impose a sense of stoicism, rather than impress with opulence. She found it worked well for her, especially dealing with pure blooded Alteans who thought she sought to capitalize on her former rank. 

Nyanko, young as she was, tended to tease her for it. She, in turn, would bring up that she had, reluctantly, helped change Nyanko’s diapers.

Kolivan took the indicated chair, eyes narrowing. “No one is to come in, young lady,” he said, without looking at Nyanko. “And no eavesdropping.”

“But how am I supposed to learn anything if I don’t?” she responded pleasantly. “I won’t be able to get any work done-“

“ _No eavesdropping_ ,” he snarled, and Nyanko pulled back in on herself, and Allura’s back stiffened in surprise. “I don’t want you here.”

“You heard the Galra,” Allura said, and made a shooing motion. The young woman nodded, tossing her braid over her shoulder and made the politest flounce Allura had ever seen as the door shut behind her.

Allura turned back to Kolivan… who offered her a data cube. A few moments after activating it, her own face twisted into the same grim expression as Kolivan’s.

“And this is one-hundred percent accurate?” 

“Ulaz has been the Chancellor’s physician for years. He would know,” Kolivan murmured. “Even if he no longer has official ties to the Blade of Marmora, he knows I feel strongly on this subject.” Kolivan exhaled. “And you as well.”

Allura closed burning eyes and tried to ignore the pain in her throat, before standing. “The invitation will arrive soon?”

“Momentarily.”

“Very well.” She gestured, and an image of Nyanko sprung to life from her desk outside. “Nyanko, dear, could you clear my calendar for the next, hmm, two weeks? I fear that I’ve had a sudden engagement… which will probably result in several others.”

“What is it?”

“It seems your sire has decided to throw a party.”

Nyanko’s control broke to look openly surprised – she was very much an Appah’s girl, and had learned her statecraft from him- and quickly disconnected.

Allura got to her feet. Took a few deep breathes.

“I’m losing my parents again,” she said after a moment. “Why do I have to do this twice?”

Kolivan, quick and silent as ever, somehow got behind her and pulled her to his chest, burying his nose in her hair. “I am here,” he said after a moment. “And I will be here as long as you wish me to be.”

She choked out a sob.

~*~*~*~*~

“You were reckless out there today, Kiddo,” the Black Paladin growled, and Shirogane Akira fought to keep from staring at his boots and bearing his neck. He did shift his weight; he wished he could keep his chagrin off his face.

Yes, he had gone off on the slavers. They were _slavers_.

He might have punched one. Or ten.

And Red might have helped him blow things up. Most of the armada, in fact. But they had been able to make arrests and free the slaves.

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” the Black Paladin said, before putting his hands on Akira’s shoulders, and gave him a gentle shake. “You can do better than that. Remember, patience-“

Akira couldn’t stop from rolling his eyes. “Yields focus. I got it, Uncle Keith,” he mumbled, taking off his red helmet. “I got it.”

He could feel the eyes of the rest of the team on them. Most people knew of their kinship- there had been cries of nepotism, even if they had explained that _Red just liked their family_ \- and the technicality that he was actually the uncle (which resulted in no end of teasing). But one thing was certain when you became a Voltron Paladin. You learned to trust each other. 

Uncle Keith chuckled. “Your Dad put up with my bullshit, too,” he said, and mimed a swat at Akira’s head. “You’re a little twerp like I was.”

“Excuse me,” he said, hissing indignantly and crossing his arms. He drew himself up. His eyes were level with Uncle Keith’s head. “I am not a _little_ -“

However Uncle Keith would have answered, neither knew, because they were interrupted. 

“Red and Black Paladins, please report to the bridge,” Coran called, his face appearing on the wall panel. “I… have some news.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Why did we volunteer to babysit again?” Hunk asked Shay, sitting on lush rise of a Balmeran hill, as they watched a small group of Balmeran children play tag with the youngest trio of Shiroganes and one of their Kogane ‘cousins.’

It was weird, how the whole half-breed thing worked. The triplets weren’t all identical- the two boys were, but the girl obviously wasn’t, secondary genders from Shiro not obvious yet- but they seemed to follow the same pattern as their older siblings when it came to having larger hands and feet and longer limbs than their cousin, who looked just Galra enough to appear ethereal, with purple shadows to her otherwise olive complexion and thick black hair and vivid purple eyes. But her older brother resembled the Galra side so strongly that they had changed the name they were going to give him almost as soon as he was born.

Mayth looked like his grandfather… until he opened his mouth. Then he was definitely Lance’s son.

“You felt bad that Shirogane looked harried,” Shay answered. “After Chancellor Thace’s unfortunate stumble this morning.”

“Oh yeah,” Hunk said, smiling at her and leaning against her side. 

“And I believe that part of you sometimes regrets not being able to reproduce as others of your friends have done,” Shay said, head tilted his direction. 

“What? No. No, of course not. Trust me, helping with Akira was all the baby raising I needed in my life,” Hunk answered, shaking his head. “And you got to have your own hatchlings. So, I’m not too torn up about it. Besides, Shiro’s sort of,” and he gestured as Ryounosuke and Yusuke were pounced by Keiko and Oriole, with their new Balmeran friends. 

They lapsed into silence as the children continued to play. 

They managed to keep the kids entertained for several more hours, eventually getting drawn into the games, with the Balmerans having the obvious advantage of strength, but the Galra-human kids were fast, and both he and Shay were laughing themselves sick by the time Mayth arrived, picking up his sister and tossing her over his shoulder. 

“Hey, Uncle Hunk!” he called while Oriole shrieked and wriggled. He put her down. “Uncle Shiro and Gramps want me to tell you they’re throwing a party and you’re invited.” His face went confused, pressing his lips together. “And that they would really, really,” and his rose high, confused, “regret it if you couldn’t come.”

Hunk blinked, brow furrowing as the triplets stopped playing and came over. He shared a puzzled look with Shay. “Sure. We’ll be there right away.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Agamen Clan house was enormous, rambling, and most of the renovations had taken half of Akira’s lifetime. His first memories had been of a pile of rubble, meant to be a warning to those who defied the Empire. Appah had told him stories about it for years, and they had spent time there during the cool summers. He had chased birds on the beach nearby, or pretended to be an explorer of ancient ruins. (He hadn’t been wrong to think of it that way, though… the building was over ten thousand years old.)  


( _The first time he had been frightened he remembered running back to his parents and diving into Appah’s lap and arms and being cooed over while Dad chuckled as he held baby Theri._ )

Akira peeled off from Uncle Keith when he saw that Nyanko and Auntie ‘Lura and Kolivan had arrived, reaching out to hug his little sister, stroking their cheeks together in greeting.

“What the hell is going on?” she hissed in his ear. 

He pulled back to look at her, voice low. “I have no clue. All Coran told us was that it was a party and we needed to get here soon.”

“Kolivan threw a shit fit to keep me from listening in.” Akira cocked his ears forward- like that would have stopped her- and she shook her head. “He also put up a privacy barrier I couldn’t get through.” Her ears drooped as she pressed her lips together, fingers nervously tangling in her lavender hair. “I’m worried.”

Around them, old friends were exchanging salutations, either Galran or human or Altean, most looking as confused as he felt. The first human Paladins- his uncles and aunt Pidge- were standing and looking a bit awkward, even as Uncle Keith was swarmed by Oriole and Mayth. 

“Yeah. Appah doesn’t really do parties,” he said softly. 

“Well, Baachan-“

“I thought we agreed we would _never, ever_ talk about that again?” he teased. She smirked a little, snorting; Baachan had decided to test her grandchildren’s limits, and Appah had chosen to stick with them and… well. They knew where their limits for both mint tea AND alcohol were.

That had been for their individual coming of age ceremonies, though. 

“So, it’s not birthday season,” because, somehow, all eight Shirogane children had been born in late spring to early summer, and now it was fall on Earth, and they used the Galra calendar for Appah’s birthdays, “and their anniversary isn’t for another three months,” Nyanko added. 

Mayth came over after a few moments, looking as uneasy as they felt after talking to uncle Keith. But in his defense, watching his parents smile distantly and politely and try so hard to keep things civil-

Akira pulled Mayth into a hug and helped tug him into a side room.

“Thanks, man,” he mumbled, twitching his ears and rubbing his eyes. 

Nyanko rubbed his shoulders before Mayth brushed faces with her, pausing and breathing deep. She tugged his ear. “Any idea what’s going on?” she asked.

“Gramps fainted this morning,” Mayth said quietly, leaning against one of the walls of the small storage room they were in. Outside they could hear the rest of the group still chatting. “I get that they don’t want the kids to worry. But I don’t think they’ve told the rest of their cohort, either, and that’s…”

Akira frowned. Took a deep breath. “Keep a sharp eye out. They’ve not said why, but we’ve got a party that apparently everyone forgot until now?”

Nyanko put on her ‘evil polite’ smile and cracked her knuckles. “Want me to hack the network?”

“You up for breaking Blade of Marmora encryption?” At her expression, he shook his head. “Then we keep our eyes and ears open. Appah… he won’t say anything. Dad’s the one we can pump for information.”

Both of them nodded. “Gramps seems… okay, I guess? Uncle Shiro’s had his ambassador face on. Which, well,” Mayth mumbled. “You know.”

They did. They all knew Dad’s regular, happy expressions, and then the face he wore when charging into battle or leading a negotiation. Calm, confident, and totally lacking the little smile lines around his eyes. 

It was a normal face. They were used to it from times like when Akira had… well, vi was big and fluffy, how was he not supposed to pet it? Yes vi was an ambassador, but… _big and fluffy_. Or the time that Nyanko somehow created a virus that nearly broke down the firewall of the Galaxy Alliance because she wanted her game to play faster. 

Or Mayth flirting. Just… Mayth flirting. 

Akira realized that their eyes were still on him. He took a deep breath. “Game plan: we don’t rock the boat yet. Keep an eye on Dad and see if we can get him alone, away from the crowd. He’ll probably be more willing to talk one on one. Don’t be afraid to grab others though.”

The other two nodded before they left the small storage room. 

The plan was decent enough. They were concerned- largely because they just had no idea what was going on- but not exactly frightened yet. So they followed the flow, greeting their younger siblings. It had been awhile since they had seen the youngest, the triplets and Oriole, and they were running amuck like normal kids. After Nyanko was Zareth, who would be finishing his schooling soon, and took after the athletic side of the family. He had been followed by Kohaku, another boy, just into puberty and currently obsessed with wearing black, being aloof and that Life Was Pain. Kohagi was a little younger, bright and bubbly and with a smile that lit up a room (and always in yellow. Always. Yellow.)

They were slightly in awe of their older siblings, given that they never almost got to see them once they had started their careers. Allura’s daughter, the youngest whelp there, clung to her legs but she smiled and gave Nyanko a hug when knelt in front of her. 

They went into one of the gathering rooms of the massive house-

And… it was decorated. Human style, with flowers, streamers and balloons, and big pile of presents at the end of a table decked out with food.

Hunk at least nodded approvingly. 

Appah and Dad were talking to each other, backs to the group before turning and smiling and… Akira felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

He had joined the Voltron Paladins almost two years ago. He hadn’t gotten to see either of his parents in person for a long time, even if he did vid call them both once a month. But here they were…

The Dad of Akira’s childhood had been wise, capable, built for strength and speed both. But his hair had gone completely white after the birth of the triplets. His body never quite recovered after eight babies, leaving him with a faint waddle and a rounded belly, just barely noticeable under his tailored black jacket. Time and stress had carved deep furrows into his face, even if the lines around his mouth just made his smile seem bigger. But he looked well for his age, and for what he had been through.

Appah looked terrible.

His Appah had always been broad and strong, big and comforting. Arms that made all of his children feel loved, even if he still couldn’t say it easily. Daddy could scare away the robeasts under the bed; Appah had been the one to dry his tears after his first loss in fencing, or his first broken heart, or help him find the courage to fight those same monsters.

He was so _thin_ now. The muscle that had made his chest and arms so broad had withered away. Skin hung off his face. His dense mane had turned fine and silver. He was leaning heavily on a cane for support as he turned to the group. 

It hit Akira that his parents were old now. And a glance out of the corner of his eye, showed him that Nyanko was feeling much the same way.

Okay, Dad had just turned fifty, which wasn’t _old_ for humans, but-

Galra had a potential lifespan of five _hundred_. And Appah wasn’t more than two hundred and eighty. 

“No doubt you are all wondering why I’ve decided to have this last-minute party,” Appah said, drawing himself up. The grip on his cane hid the tremor in his hands, even as his voice was a bare rasp of its former self. “I plan to announce this evening that I’m stepping down as Chancellor of the Galra Coalition. My Vice-Chancellor, Marmora Antok, will be stepping up to fulfill my duties until the end of the term and an election can be held,” he intoned. A faint smile lit his face. “And I can relax some. So, to celebrate, I’ve put together some presents for the people I love most.”

He pulled out a chair, and Keiko ran over to jump into his lap almost immediately; her littermates were a breath behind her. The middle siblings hung back until Dad called them forward. Zareth hit the food with gusto while Kohaku started rambling on about his latest poetry. Kohagi bounced up to the triplets and Oriole, being closest to their age. 

They hadn’t really noticed yet that something was very wrong.

But the adults had. They hung back, with slightly sick smiles on their faces. 

No one had the courage to say anything yet. Akira looked over at Nyanko, who gave him a twitch of one ear in answer. 

They hung back, grabbing plates of food (and stacking it high with fried, salted marrow bones, and watching the pure humans shudder as they chowed down) and settled down together with Mayth, who was hugging his knees.

The presents started soon after that. The littles all got toys they had been begging for, and Appah watched them all tear in like dry ground soaking in the rain. 

Things started to warm up, slowly, because watching whelps play brought out smiles in everyone. Eventually he moved up to Mayth and Nyanko and himself: for Mayth, he gave him one of his grandfather’s tool belts, for Nyanko, an oddly shaped piece of metal (A mystery, kitten, he had told her. You can’t resist those) and for Akira…

“I will never be able to express how proud I am of you, Red Paladin,” Appah said, reaching behind himself. “I would have given this to one of your older brothers, but I feel like it is best in your hands.” 

Akira’s throat went dry as Appah placed his blade in Akira’s hands. 

Uncle Keith’s sword was meant to go to the right hand, the firstborn of the new generation, as sign of leadership. But it wasn’t the Clan Father’s sword, either. It slumbered, dully, between their hands as Akira shifted his grip and stared.

“Why..?”

Appah sighed, putting one hand on Akira’s cheek. “You’re head of Agamen, now. I considered giving this to Keith, but he’s got his own worries right now. You’ve got the same knack for getting others out of trouble and keeping a cool head as your Dad, and people look to you.” He shifted his weight, and Akira offered his hand to Appah, who snorted and took it.

Appah had lost so much weight. Akira almost thought he saw the light shining through him. 

“At any rate, the laws have changed. Purebloods don’t have the monopoly on leadership of Clans anymore. Zace’s daughter will lead the queens, and will give you support as you need it,” Appah went on, gripping Akira’s arm. His breath rattled in his lungs, leaving Akira fighting to keep the unease off his face. 

“I’m- Appah, I’m too young-“

Appah turned to him. “Yes. But fate rarely asks us if we’re ready. You’ll have help from Shiro and from your aunt Izlea and cousin Zaria. In the past, we might have had a council and an election of sorts. But there are less than twenty of us and most of them are under the age of majority.” Appah sighed, and drew Akira into an embrace.

“I have no regrets, little warrior.” He pressed their faces foreheads together, and closed his eyes, smiling. “Okay, a few. But none about you.”

This was getting scary. Akira squeezed back, hugging Appah, listening to his bones creak with a grunt of pain. 

Akira jerked away, startled. 

He was about to say something, to ask Appah what was going on, when he turned and his face brightened. “Izlea!” He brushed his knuckles over Akira’s jaw. “Excuse me, son.” Akira turned to see his aunt arrive, tall and elegant and commanding the room despite herself. “We can talk more later, I hope.”

“Yeah, Appah,” he murmured, trailing off as he realized he still held the dagger. 

Watching Appah greet his littermate was another punch to the gut. She had aged gracefully; shoulders unbowed, hair in a thick plait like a crown over her head as she came to greet her brother Tiny. Despite their similar faces, her skin was still smooth and even, with just a hint of smile lines around her eyes and mouth.

The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach grew.

He turned when he saw a hand wave in front of his eyes, and Mayth grabbed his arm.

“Shiro disappeared while you were talking to Gramps,” he whispered, hauling Akira away and down a hall. “Nyanko went after him and- is that?” he stared at the dagger in Akira’s hands. “Sheee-it.”

Akira nodded. “Yeah.” He tied the sheath to the small of his back.

“Shit.”

“I know.”

“Crap. Better you than me, though.”

Akira pushed him. “Asshole.”

“Berk.”

“Shithead.”

“Dumb-“ he stopped, and exhaled. He had dragged Akira down a hallway and to an office. “We’re here.”

Akira hesitated, before pushing the door open.

The office itself was mostly empty, just a bunch of chairs and stale air. But inside was something he had never, ever thought he would see. 

Nyanko was sitting next to their pale and silent Dad, rubbing his back as tears trailed down his face, shoulders shaking while she held his hand.

Both Mayth and Akira looked at each other, and Akira fell into a squat, edging towards Dad and switching to Japanese. “Are you all right, Dad?”

“I’m sorry,” Dad whispered, choking as he tried to get himself under control. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be seeing this-“ he was wiping his nose and eyes, and Akira reached into his pockets for a handkerchief. 

“Dad, it’s…” He wanted to say it was okay, but clearly was not, and he had no idea why. “We’re here. What can we do?” He looked at Nyanko and Mayth, both of whom nodded back encouragingly. Mayth had taken Dad’s free side. All three of them were purring faintly in distress. “What’s wrong?”

To Akira’s complete horror, tears welled back up in Dad’s eyes. His Dad, the Champion. His Dad, the former Black Paladin. Crying. Sobbing. Heartbroken.

“Not yet, Aki-kun,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t have to see me,” he sucked in a breath, before a full body sob wracked him. “Not like this. I’m so sorry-“

They didn’t acknowledge the door opening, or someone else coming in.

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” Mayth said, eyes wide. “Who- who died-?”

“Thace,” a solemn voice answered, and both of them turned to Allura, who had come in behind them. She quickly shooed Mayth up and out of his chair, settling beside Shiro and taking him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Shiro,” she murmured, rocking back and forth. 

Akira hadn’t realized how small humans were compared to Galra half-breeds, part of him noted, detached and disbelieving. He was dimly aware of having fallen on his tailbone, and all of the sounds coming from down a distant pipe. There was a low stream of curses as Nyanko leapt to her feet and Mayth just stared at everyone, eyes wide, fur standing on in.

“That’s- Appah was looking sick. But that’s- he can’t be- it’s not true, right? How can he be- We can fight this, right? He’s going to be okay. That can be true-“ Nyanko went on, voice getting higher and more hysterical as it went. Akira got to his feet to hug her as she started shaking her head. “He didn’t… I talked to him last week, he didn’t look this bad…”

Mayth covered his face with his hands and keened.

Another body barged in, and they all turned to see Uncle Keith, who looked just as concerned. “Shiro- what’s going-“ he stopped.

Stared. 

“Shiro. What’s going on?”

Dad wiped his face, pulling away from Allura, who kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders. “Thace is dying.” Uncle Keith took a deep, sharp breath, mouth opening for denials. “The condescending bastard knew this was coming for years.”

“But- but he’s not been _sick_ ,” Nyanko protested. “He’s been fine up until a few weeks ago!”

“His quintessence is nearly depleted,” Allura said, and pressing her lips together when Shiro didn’t answer. “There’s barely enough soul within him to keep his heart beating.”

“How?” Mayth asked, hands in the air. “How do you run out of quintessence? It’s, it’s the magic shit that keeps the universe going. You don’t run out of soul!”

Uncle Keith groaned, and looked away, grief and guilt pinching his face. “This is my fault. This is all of my stupid-“

“It’s not, Keith,” Dad answered him, slowly and exhausted. “It’s no one’s fault.”

“What. Happened,” Nyanko snarled, whirling at Keith and jabbing a talon into his chest. “Are you saying that Appah-“

“Peace,” Akira interrupted, standing to his full height. He put one hand on her shoulder. “Assigning blame won’t make this better.”

Uncle Keith ducked his eyes, refusing to make eye contact. “In the final battle against Haggar, Grandfather… had to make a choice. Haggar wanted to see him suffer. And she-“ and Uncle Keith fell silent as words failed him. It took him a moment to rally. “She did. But Grandfather discovered the source of her powers and blocked them. But the cost of that.” He lifted his eyes to Akira’s. “The cost of saving _us_ , nearly killed him.”

“I was there as well,” Allura said. 

“But you actually _helped_ ,” Uncle Keith said bitterly. 

“He told us at the time that it was temporary. It was not. Alteans can use things like wormholes because they can, eventually, recharge their quintessence. Galra, and most other species, cannot,” Dad went on. He wiped his eyes again. “He’s been under a countdown ever since. Sometime tomorrow, the day after if we’re lucky, he’s just going to sit down, lean back and… stop.” The muscles of his neck and jaw flexed. “And the bastard knew.”

“I- what- the hell?” Mayth said, hands waving. “Why didn’t he-“

“Grandfather _doesn’t_ say anything,” Uncle Keith said, dryly. “Sick, dying, whatever.”

“I got the report from Ulaz this morning,” Allura cut in. “If he hadn’t fainted, I doubt Thace would have said a word. But since the information had become known…”

“He decided he wanted to see everyone one last time. But he didn’t want what would happen to hang over everyone,” Shiro said. “I. Fuck.” He covered his face with his hands. “He never told me. The bastard _never told me_!”

Akira swallowed. The weight of Appah’s dagger seemed to drag him down. “Dad, he should have,” he said, and part of him wanted to go howling down the halls in grief and denial. And he would. Later. “But what would you have done differently?” He went over to his Dad, settled beside him this time, and threw an arm around his shoulder. “Tried to figure out how to have, what, seven kids all at once?”

Dad snorted, chuckles sounding like tapping on a wooden bowl. “Maybe.” He looked exhausted. “But he promised he wouldn’t keep this shit to himself, when _you_ were a babe in arms,” he murmured. He hugged Akira. “We were warriors, soldiers, and we had the ‘what happens if one of us dies’ talk a few times. Somehow I never thought it would be him.”

Akira hugged him, purring, and the rest of their family settled around him to join. “I know why you wouldn’t want to tell the littles, but… why keep it from us?”

“He didn’t want sadness,” Shiro said, elbows on his knees as everyone piled together. He glanced at Akira, then back at his clasped hands. “No blame, no one angry at what happened. Just peace, so he could enjoy everyone happy. He apologized, said it was selfish. Just said he wanted to protect us.”

Nyanko sniffled, burying her face in Dad’s lap while he pet her hair. Uncle Keith was comforting Mayth, who had buried his face in Keith’s shoulder and holding on for dear life. Akira just kept purring, even if he wanted to do the same. He wanted to turn out, charge at Appah and scream in his face, but-

But the memory of fragile bones and thin, almost translucent skin made him stop. Appah was holding on to life by will alone right now, and that was dwindling. He could scream… later. 

This wasn’t the moment to fall apart. As much as he wanted to.

The silence stretched on, the Galra-bloods instinctively humming and purring the song of mourning together, helping to bleed off the pain and the stress and to comfort each other before the inevitable return to the party.

“Are you going to wait, until after, to tell the littles?” Nyanko asked when they were able to speak without tears. 

“Yes. His plan is to make sure he says what he needs to-“ and Akira _creaked_ , half sob, have shriek, because he knew exactly what his Appah had just done now- “ and leave it at that. The triplets are too young to really understand what’s happening, so he’s written letters for them when they’re older. You get some, too.” Dad laughed again, strangled and painful and Akira hated the sound. “The General has had this planned out for years.”

Akira hugged him again, and Nyanko and Mayth, and Allura stroked Dad’s hair, her face grim. 

Uncle Keith’s eyes were red-rimmed, but he was doing well enough. 

“I’m going to go wash my face and come back out,” Dad said after a moment. He smiled, weakly, at everyone, making moves to get up. “Try to act normal, okay? This… this isn’t about me, or you. It’s about making his last day happy and comfortable and like hell am I ruining that.”

He looked at everyone, and they all nodded back.

Akira took a deep breath, meeting Uncle Keith’s eyes, who quickly ducked them away.

~*~*~*~*~

Allura swallowed hard as she followed the children out, watching Shiro pull himself back together, Keith wrestle with guilt.

Fault and blame would do no good here. She knew that. She had the opportunity to say goodbye to one of her parents, when she hadn’t been able to before. She planned to make the most of it.

Kolivan stood in the corner, holding Alina in his lap with a small plate of food in front of them, offering her snacks. The child was, like Allura had been, a picky eater. She chuckled to herself as she walked over and knelt in front of her little girl, who bounced on Kolivan’s knee.

“How are you, my darling?” she asked, and smiled back when Alina flashed her bright, sharp teeth. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

She nodded, and proceeded to tell her mother, in exquisite detail, everything that had happened to her that morning, since she had awakened, how Kolivan had brushed her hair and braided it, had breakfast, had lessons, played outside, dreamed about a giant cat that ate rainbows… 

Kolivan chuckled, absently dragging his knuckles over the side of her face, which she leaned into. Allura smiled at him. “Would you mind coming with me? I want to go speak with Grandfather Thace. He’s… going to be leaving us, soon, and I think we should say goodbye.”

“Oh. Where is he going?” Alina asked, frowning. She started playing with a mix of sauces on her plate, which Kolivan kept trying to scoot out of the way (and wipe her face with a napkin). 

“Away. I don’t know when we’ll see him again.” If ever. His soul had clung to its personality and memories, but there might not be enough left of him to know how to do so.

No wonder Shiro had been so outraged and broken. For ten thousand years their souls had sought each other out, loved and hurt each other, but always together. This time, that might not happen.

“Mommy?”

“My darling?”

“You look sad,” she said, and Allura smiled and rubbed her large ears. “I’ll miss Grandfather Thace too. He tells good stories.”

“He does,” she conceded. Alina jumped off Kolivan’s lap. “But I’m also sad that… where he’s going, he’s not going to remember us. To remember Uncle Shiro, or anyone else.”

Alina paused, twisting back and forth in her little blue and white frock. “Why don’t you take pictures?”

“I don’t think he’ll be able to see them.”

“Oh.” She didn’t seem to troubled. “You write stuff down, Mommy, or have Nyanko do it.”

Allura chuckled and put her arms out, watching Alina fling herself into her arms. “Come along. We need to go visiting.”

The little girl snuggled into her arms and Allura sighed, tucking her white and blue head under her chin. She smiled, slightly, at Kolivan who nodded at her to go. 

Thace was holding court in a large chair, chatting with his littermate and granddaughter Zaria, while the youngest of his children and grandchildren ran in circles around each other. Alina started to fidget, clearly wanting to join them.

“Just a moment, my love,” she whispered in Alina’s ear. She made the biggest, most put upon sigh. 

“May I speak with you for a moment?” she asked Thace, who smiled up at her. Her heart sank as she took him in; she had never considered herself lucky, that neither of her parents had lived long enough to see old age. 

Now, she was seriously reconsidering that. 

“Of course, Allura,” he said, getting to his feet with the help of his cane. “And hello, Alina. You are looking quite lovely today. Is that a new dress?” Alina nodded back, hiding her face in Allura’s chest.

“I see we’re feeling shy today,” Allura muttered in exasperation, while Thace laughed. 

“It is all right.”

“Have you finished packing?” Alina asked, voice muffled against Allura’s shirt.

“Packing?”

Alina turned to him. “For your trip. Mommy said you are going away.”

Thace inhaled, lifting an eyebrow and cocking one of his ears. “As much as I can.”

“Mommy packs for her trips. She swears a lot when she does.” Allura’s ears burned while Thace chortled. 

“I swore a lot, too. I’m a bit scared. It’s… long.”

“Oh. Will you get me a present?”

Thace laughed aloud this time. “Well, I don’t know. But I have one for you now.” He shuffled to the table, and brought her a small package. “Kolivan told me you had gotten interested in Earth… ponies?”

Alina squealed, writhing in Allura’s arms until she was put down to take the present, which she savagely tore apart and pulled out the sparkly orange quadruped, jumped up and down and ran over to Oriole, a tornado on two legs. 

“You have made her day,” Allura commented, as Alina started showing it off to _everyone_ , including several of the Blade of Marmora bodyguards in attendance. Though they were used to such nonsense and indulged her far more gently than the guards of her own childhood.

“It is my prerogative as her grandfather to spoil her,” Thace said airily. “As with all of my family.”

“None of us will deny you that,” Allura whispered. “But… I… Thace. I never got to say goodbye to you- before. I didn’t get to say goodbye to either of you when I had the chance. Please-“

Thace bent down (Not enough, not nearly enough, he had shrunk somehow) and pressed their foreheads together. “Daughter. That I have gotten to see you grow into such an amazing woman is a privilege and an honor. If nothing else, being here with you has made the eons worth it.”

The tears burned her eyes, made her throat close. “I’m glad I got to see you again, too.” She kissed his forehead. “I wish… I wish I could fix this. I wish I had been strong enough to save... to stop Haggar. But I wasn’t. And Haggar-“

Thace exhaled. “We did what was necessary. And my people will no longer fear love, and birth, and life. We found the remaining Alteans, brought them back from extinction. I regret,” and he glanced down at the children shrieking as they played, “but they are good regrets.”

“They will be cared for,” a deep voice answered, and they both looked to see Kolivan looming over them both. “All of them.”

“I had no doubt.”

Thace took offered his arm, and Kolivan clasped it, leaning down to pass a quick nip to Thace’s chin and a brush across his cheek.

Allura looked away.

Perhaps it was coincidence, but she happened to see one of the children drawing pictures of the Lions and… she frowned, an idea starting in the back of her mind.

She needed to speak with Akira and Keith.

~*~*~*~*~

“What’s going on?” Akira asked. He was not happy to be dragged away from the party with his family. Slowly but surely the story of what was really happening had percolated through the group; the reactions had bounced along the stages of grief.

Akira wasn’t sure where he was, right now.

“Shiro and Thace are… well, to put it succinctly, they are reincarnations of King Alfor and Black Paladin Zarkon,” she said as they strode into the Lions’ hangers in the Castle. 

Akira stopped cold. “Wait, what?”

“It is a long story. Most souls do not hang on to their old personalities and memories, but… my parents were determined,” Allura added. “And they found each other despite Haggar doing her best to prevent it.”

Akira’s jaw dropped, closed, dropped again and he waved his arms around. “You just added a subtext to my life that I had _no idea_ existed. 

“There’s time to explain that later. But they have searched for each, found each other, for ten thousand years. Often they lost each other, but they kept looking.”

Akira stared at her. “Are you saying that my parents will find each other again?” he said softly, suddenly hopeful.

“No. And therein lies the tragedy.” Akira clenched his fists as his breath caught in his throat. “Thace’s soul is worn thin from…” she sighed, and gave Akira a strange glance. “From what happened. It is… it is _unlikely_ that he will be able to keep his memories with him.” She looked down at the deck. “His soul might dissipate entirely, joining the quintessence of the universe.”

Akira took a deep breath. “Then why are we here?”

Allura smiled tightly, and looked up at the Red Lion. “We’re going to make a note.”

~*~*~*~*~

It was a few dobashes before dawn.

Thace yawned loudly. He was half covered in his Clan, with Keiko draped over his lap, his other children in various knots and whorls in the common nest room. The adults were also in various states of sleep, in clumps or pairs.

The children smelled content and worn out after an afternoon of play; the adults were laced in salt and grief. He wished he could assuage it; he was resigned, but his own anger and bitterness bit deep.

He shifted; the urge to get up and leave was strong, as was the coldness biting at his toes. 

Thace jumped when he felt someone petting his head, and realized that Shiro’s fingers were tangled in his hair. “Is it time?” he whispered. 

Thace nodded. Together they worked to move Keiko, still sleeping, into a pile with her siblings. It took some work for them to work their way around and across the sleeping bodies, but they were able to.

The stone corridor outside was cool in the early morning. 

“Are you in pain?” Shiro asked after a moment. Thace shook his head. He was just… very cold. “Where do you want to go?”

“I feel like being outside,” Thace answered. “We put in a swing in the courtyard a few years ago.” He offered his hand, which Shiro took, letting Thace lean on him as they walked.

“Let’s go.”

They said little from then on, finding the large swing and Thace sat down, Shiro curling up against him and under his right arm. 

The light was a steel blue, the sky a faint green as light refracted off the gas giant’s rings. A faint hum of insects started as they swung, back and forth, light starting to crawl over the nearby wall. Breathing in and out, in and out.

“I’m going to find you again,” Shiro said off-handedly. “Do you understand me?”

“And we’re a disaster each time it happens,” Thace retorted. His eyes were drooping closed. Breathing took was an effort as he let his chin drop on Shiro’s head. “Maybe it’s time for a break.”

“Oh fuck you.”

Thace kissed Shiro’s hair; he could smell the tears on his face. Opening his eyes was too much effort.

“We really fucked things up, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did. And ten thousand years later, we’re still fixing them.”

There was silence. Then, “We’ll find each other again, Al. I promise you. I don’t care what Allura or Ulaz or what the druids say. We’ll find each other.”

“That’s a promise, Zarkon.” 

Thace’s breathing was getting slower and slower. The cold tingling was up his legs, and he couldn’t feel his feet and hands anymore. 

“Goodbye, my love. My friend, my partner. I’ll follow your light until the universe dies in cold. Until creation starts anew. I’ll find you. _I’ll find you_.”

In. Out. In. The light was getting brighter.

He counted the breathes. One after another. “Goodbye, my love. I will cherish every moment we’ve had together, every touch. Every taste. You gave me the strength to overcome despair. To overcome the end of my people and to start over… I’ll be waiting.”

Out. In. Sun on his face.

Silence.

~*~*~*~*~

Shiro heard Thace’s last breath, felt his heart slow to a stop as he went heavy and cold.

Tears dripped down his face, down his chin to his chest as his nose ran, down his throat. He fought the urge to wretch as grief swallowed him whole.

Somehow he got to his feet. Somehow he wiped his face, leaning down to kiss Thace’s forehead one last time.

“Goodnight, sweet prince,” he whispered, before draping his house robe over Thace’s body. “Goodnight.”

The end.

**Author's Note:**

> This wanted to make myself cry while writing this. Again a lot of emotions I just haven't dealt with that I'm digging out. It is catharsis for me, and I hope that it will be something similar for you.


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